Elaine Fleming was mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota

Cass Lake, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 860 people, 331 households, and 192 families residing in the city. The population density was 753.2 people per square mile . There were 384 housing units at an average density of 336.3 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 30.12% White, 64.42%...

, a position to which she was elected in 2003. Cass Lake—officially a city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

, but with a population under 1000—is located within the reservation

Indian reservation

An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

 boundaries of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, also known as the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians or the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, and as Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag Ojibweg in the Ojibwe language, is an Ojibwa tribe located in Minnesota. The tribe boasts 8,861 tribal members as of July, 2007...

. She is a professor at Leech Lake Tribal College

Leech Lake Tribal College

Leech Lake Tribal College is a small, associate degree-granting, Anishinaabe college in Cass Lake, Minnesota, chartered by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission...

 and the first Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 mayor of Cass Lake; she is aligned with the Green Party of Minnesota

Green Party of Minnesota

The Green Party of Minnesota is the fourth largest political party in Minnesota and was founded in 1994 on the Four Pillars of the Green Party: Ecological Wisdom, Social and Economic Justice, Grassroots Democracy, and Nonviolence and Peace...

 and is one of the organizers of Rock the Vote - Rez Style.

Cass Lake is a Superfund

Superfund

Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 , a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances...

 site, as a result of chemical dumping by the St. Regis Paper Company. Fleming has characterized St. Regis's activities as "environmental racism

Racism

Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...

", which, in turn she has characterized as "terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

in our communities". Fleming was elected mayor for her first term by seven votes. Fleming was elected mayor for a second term as a write-in campaign. As of 2006, Fleming is serving her second and last term as Mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota.